Southampton University team shines bright at CES

Several students and researchers from Southampton University have exhibited at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the biggest trade show of its type in the world.

(Credit: Southampton University)

The Southampton crew attended the show under the banner of Future Worlds, the university’s on-campus startup incubator. Over the course of the week in Las Vegas, three technologies were exhibited and demoed: an immersive 3D audio soundbar, an artificial intelligence powered video analytics platform, and an intuitive language app to teach the Japanese writing system.

Associate Professor Filippo Fazi and Research Fellow Dr Marcos Simón were demonstrating Soton Audio Labs, a novel system that creates immersive 3D audio from a single soundbar. The technology uses image processing with a built-in camera to track the location of the viewer in the room, and delivers a 3D experience using destructive and constructive sound cancellation techniques.

Elsewhere, computer vision expert Daniel Martinho-Corbishley showcased Aura Vision Labs, a cloud-based video analytics platform that harnesses artificial intelligence to generate valuable data for use in high-tech retail and future smart cities. Based on PhD research, the platform uses deep learning to extract useful information about how people look and move from live footage captured on low-cost cameras and existing security systems.

Lastly, web scientist Travis Ralph-Donaldson brought a hands-on demonstration of Handy Kanji, an iOS app that gamifies the teaching of the Japanese writing system. The application uses intelligent stroke recognition and scoring algorithms to teach hundreds of Japanese Kanji characters.

“Future Worlds is excited to be bringing cutting edge innovations from the University of Southampton to CES for the third year running,” said Dr Reuben Wilcock, director of Future Worlds. “We are proud to have grown a unique on-campus startup culture and to be incubating some of the brightest entrepreneurial minds in the world today.”